How the Astros operate. Making a mistake on Russ Springer.

I think Tim Purpura is very good at his job. I think he’s the right guy to be general manager of the Astros. I know many of you disagree with this assessment, and he may prove me wrong over the next year. However, disagreeing is one of the things that makes this stuff interesting. It’s why blogs were born. At least, I think it was. While I love Tim Purpura, I’m frustrated that so many of you are giving him credit for signing Carlos Lee and Woody Williams. Now you’re blaming him for the arbitration decisions and for not having snagged a No. 2 starter by now. You’re wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Let’s review. The Astros signed Lee and Williams because Drayton McLane coughed up the dough. Period. End of story. Yes, Purpura identified Lee and Wiliams as two guys he wanted. He had Lee identified as far back as August. You and I could have identified a guy who was (a) a free agent and (b) had averaged 33 HRs, 111 RBIs and 159 games the last four years. Purpura handled a lot of the discussions with the agent, but in the end these deals were about one thing: money. I can’t believe some of you think that Tim Purpura decided how much to pay these guys.

Had Drayton McLane cut off the bidding on Lee at, say, $60 million over five years, some of you would be writing in to torch Purpura. McLane runs the Astros. He not only sets a budget, he oversees that budget more than other owners. I don’t like some of his decisions, but his way works.

At the moment, the Astros are stalled in their search for a No. 2 starter. McLane apparently is unwilling to pay the going rate for Vincente Padilla, Gil Meche, Ted Lilly, Jeff Suppan, etc. That rate is going up by the day, probably to around $8 million to $10 million per year for a minimum of four years. That’s way too much money, but then Carlos Lee got way too much money.

If Andy Pettitte returns to the Astros, McLane will have made the right decision. If not, there’s going to be a huge, gaping hole in the rotation. Some of those kids may step up and pitch great next season. I can’t believe they’re all going to be busts. But you’d feel a lot more comfortable about your ballclub if the rotation had Oswalt, Pettitte, Williams, Hirsh and Nieve instead of Oswalt, Williams and three kids.

Purpura is attempting to land a No. 2 starter by shopping Morgan Ensberg and/or Willy Taveras and/or a reliever. I’m not sure what those guys will fetch, especially since Ensberg and Brad Lidge are arbitration eligible and closing in on free agency. I’ve said before that I wouldn’t trade Lidge unless it was absolutely necessary, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Okay, that’s my sermon for the day. In baseball, it all begins with the money and the money begins with the owner and the general manager does what he’s told. The general manager’s job is to shape the roster, to make sound decisions in player development and to make things work while staying within a budget.

Incidentally, the Astros seem on their way to making a huge mistake on Russ Springer. They apparently want someone who can pitch multiple innings instead of just one. Check the stats. Springer is good for one. My point is that if you’ve got the back end taken care of with Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler and Brad Lidge, you can use Springer for just one inning. Maybe there’s someone out there better and cheaper, but I doubt it. There’s also the clubhouse influence issue. Springer was great with the young pitchers, with helping them mature and behave and deal with both success and failure. If I’m the Astros, I think long and hard before showing him the door. A decision like this smacks of McLane at his worst. He throws $100 million at a free-agent outfielder, but then cuts corners on a $2-million reliever.

58 Responses

Isn’t it true that Springer is considered a type A player and by simply offering arbitration, the Stros could have received a 1st round draft pick if he decided to sign elsewhere? That should have been a no-brainer to offer it to him.

BTW, the astros would be crazy to trade Taveras. He is a plus defensive player and can help cover up the shortcomings of Lee in LF with his speed. Plus he can steal bases which is something few ‘Stros on the team are able to do. His low OBP is a problem but that can improve in time. He is still young.

A mistake with Springer, yes, but par for the course with how we deal with players in this organization. Just because he is not very effective after he tosses one inning is no real reason to get rid of him. Like you mentioned RJ, and as I mentioned in a previous post, he brings other things to the table. He has that fire, that intangible something you need when your team has, and could realistically have 3/5′s of its SP’s have limited experience in the bigs. He leaves, he will be sorely missed. As I recall, he was retired from BB, sitting at home in La when the Astros came calling. Talked him into coming back, went to the WS, and made the playoffs last year, and now they want to kick him to the curb.

I agree with you that Purpura shouldn’t take credit for the last two signings. I’m beginning to wonder what signings he should take credit for?

—-As far as the SP situation goes, Jason Schmidt seems to be the only legit option on the FA front. I know that he will command about a 4 year $45-50mil deal, but he is a #1 SP on most staffs (WHEN HE IS HEALTHY).

—-In my opinion I say leave Andy Pettite alone. If he wants to sign great, if not whatever. If he does decide to play it will probably only be for 1 year, then we get ourselves into the same situation next year. Where he isn’t really motivated in spring training, so he spends the first couple of months getting back into shape and struggling. I know he is one of the best when he is healthy, but if he doesn’t really want to be out there giving 100% everyday (not every 5th day) then fine, finish your career in pinstripes no love lost.

—-Why do we need another lefty reliever? I think one is enough, if not too many. How often is a lefty specialist actually used? twice a week? Last year Trevor Miller, who did an outstanding job for the last 3 months, only pitched 3.4% of the total innings pitched. So if you get another lefty specialist, there will be more stress on the other relievers, and we can’t afford any injuries. If a righty can’t get a lefty out 7 out of 10 times, he shouldn’t be in the bigs to begin with.

—-I also agree with you about Russ Springer. I still cringe when I see him enter a game, but he had a decent year last year and deserves another chance before we go overpay for someone with the same numbers but may not be liked in the clubhouse.

—-Tim Purpura, do something already. Uncle Drayton has said that he doesn’t like to pay people that don’t work, so earn your keep.

Richard, I couldn’t agree with you more on the Astro’s situation. Although, I think Uncle Drayton has learned from the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes. 3 years later and we are paying 100 million for a slugger. Give Purpura credit though for not wasting his time on Alfoso Soriano, and his 136 million dollar contract. They addressed two off season issues. Also, I would not get rid of Lidge without receiving proper compensation. He will probably save another 30 plus games. The Cubs and Card’s would love to have him.

RJ…I believe your comments are dead-on. I think Astros fans are definitely appreciative that Drayton was willing to pay the $$ to obtain the services of Lee and Williams. In my opinion, he had little choice….he’s either gonna pony up to own/operate a competitive MLB ballclub or he’ll be over charging fans to show up and watch a triple A club play in a big league park. Seeing as Drayton raised the price of admission prior to this round of free agency, he had to do something “real” or he would have had a PR nightmare on his hands. Regardless, I don’t think he’ll be residing in the poor house anytime soon. This is one Astros fan who would like to believe/hope that the “hard to get” act that Pettitte (and, to a lessor extent, Roger) has been playing is truly an act and the two of them have a secret pact with Drayton that they will return if he indeed made strides to improve the club thru free agency. (OK…I said “hope”…).

If the Astros balk at signing a quality free agent pitcher, we can only “hope” Uncle Drayton has an ace up his sleeve as Lee and Williams will not be enough if our starting rotation goes south.

You’re right. If the Astros let Springer slip away it would be a tremendous blow to the bullpen. The way the game has changed over the years, you don’t see guys like Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter anymore – relievers who can and will pitch more than two innings. It’s the way the game has gone, like it or not. To have a guy who is lights out for one inning is worth keeping. After all, you want at least six innings from a starter (again, the game has changed so that you don’t have pitchers going out to the mound with the intention of finishing the game anymore), and that leaves three innings for the bullpen. One inning goes a long way towards a win.

You are so right about Springer. Russ had a 3.47 ERA, which was better than Qualls, Pettitte, Lidge, Nieve, Hirsh and many others in 2006.

Russ struck out 46 in 60 innings last season, which is great.

Plus, the Chronicle has noted in a number of mentions that Springer has a great deal of leadership ability in the bullpen. Russ is a good influence on the young guys. Purpura has acknowledged that Russ has potential as a future pitching coach – and Russ is already filling that role to some extent.

I know Russ got bombed on one night in 2006 -eight runs in one-third of an inning or something. If that one horrible appearance was eliminated, Spring would have had an ERA of about 2.50.

Why nickle and dime Springer? It is a dumb move by management.

Is it Purpura, McLane or Garner who is responsible for this ill-conceived tactic with Springer? Whoever is responsible, is making a big mistake.

Springer is a bargain. It would also be dumb to consider trading Wheeler, one of the best relievers in the league.

We don’t know for sure if Lidge will rebound to his 2005 form. If we trade Wheeler and Lidge fizzles again, the Astros will be in trouble with no closer (although Springer could be an effective closer).

Lidge makes more money and would bring a greater return in a trade. It would be smarter to trade Lidge.

I’m not sure Purpura is doing a good job. The Springer tactic is bad. The 2005 team was already there, and Hunsinger had a bigger role in assembling it.

Purpura was rumored to have held on tightly to Hirsh, Pence or other youngsters instead of trading them for Tejada. I think Purpura has a tendency to be infatuated with minor leaguers whom he nutured and is too conservative in being willing to trade them.

Some have asked – and rightfully so – if Purpura is ready for prime time as a major league GM. Or is he better suited as an administrator of the minor league system.

Getting Carlos Lee was good. But, as you noted, everybody in Houston knew we had to have him – it was a no-brainer. Maybe a better indicator is the subtle deals – like how does Purpura handle the Springer situation.

Its time to you to eat some crow big guy. Quit talkin base ball and acknowledge my coogs and their fans. We spanked So. Miss and were SRO at the Rob. Guess your ploy of calling out all the Houston fans this week worked! Now you need to work on those Rocket fans and get them to stop drinking chardonay and eating shrimp at that bar while the game is on.

Was Carlos Lee overpaid? I doubt very seriously he would have signed with the Astros for a lesser amount. Free agency this year was pretty much a seller’s market.

You’re right about Purpura. He’s doing exactly what he was hired to do. With someone like McLane the farm system needs to be kept well-stocked and it was Purpura that made Hunsicker look good. Let’s hope that Purpura has someone just as good.

$100 million for Lee, but $2 million for Springer is deemed excessive…..

This is why sports is sometimes stranger than fiction.

More examples:

Sammy Sosa on an ESPN commercial last night with a new Cab Callaway hairdo saying that after a year off to clear his head (and whatever else is in his system), he’s ready to play ball again. And oh yeah, he thinks McGwire is a slam dunk HOFer.

Tom Hicks lets Borras and Zito within 50 miles of the Rangers. Is Hicks under some Svengalian trance that Borras put him under? It reminds me of a time when I was in a gentleman’s club and someone wrote on the bathroom wall, “a fool and his money are soon parted”….well, it was funny at the time.

Those sharpshooting, upstanding NBAers are mad at the new ball and the mean ol’ refs and figure a formal complaint ought to take of that pretty quick. Is that all Hunter could come up with?

And is Mark Cuban’s act getting strange with all the petulant rants and t-shirts mocking Stern? What is it with billionaires in sports these days?

I do think Springer and Trever Miller were VITAL parts of the bullpen last year. I think you need some elder statesman type guys to go in with the young bucks. I’m very happy not to see Chris Burke in this blog, I’ve made my opinion on him clear. He is not as expendable as Willy T, even if Willy is better, because there is no one behind him that can play 2B next year. I personally, can’t wait to see what Josh Anderson and Hunter Pence can do. You even have Parraz down in A-ball that appears to have some potential as well. The Astros need a #2 starter, but they can’t afford to mortgage the future of their offense to get it, especially when they have so many pitching prospects. I know Drayton wants to win now but you have the 3 main cogs locked up for several years. I’d take an off year this year if it made us better for the future.

Now that the talk has shifted to the rotation after Lee’s signing, I haven’t heard anything about Brandon Backe? Has it already been determined that he will not be ready for the start of the season? With baseball out of season, I’m just forgetting exactly what his diagnosis was. Can you refresh my memory?

the biggest mistake would be going in to the season with brad ausmus as the everyday catcher. it boggles my mind. espn.com recently wrote the astros need, “One more starter, although if Andy Pettitte doesn’t retire, he could fill the void. They could also use a replacement for Brad Ausmus, but he seems to be an organizational blind spot.” everyone outside of houston seems to get this. ausmus will be 38 or 39 next year. catchers that age regress, not improve. how about bengie molina? he handles pitchers well, hits infinitely better (hopefully he would be able to adjust to new pitchers), and is only slightly worse defensively (the big difference being that ausmus is great at saving potential wild pitches, but their arms are about equal)

I called Purpura on sports radio talk show this week,and I was shocked to hear him say he still thinks Jason Lane can hit 40 homers in a season. I think that statement right there says enough about Purpura’s intelligence. Considering he has yet to make a quality trade, his inability to fill out a roster, his bad signings of Wilson, AUsmus, and Palmeiro last winter, and his mysterious fascination of Lane and Ausmus, I think Purpura is the worst GM in baseball.

I somewhat agree with you. Not signing a good guy like Springer, especially with young talent that needs direction, is a mistake. I disagree with most of the other stuff.

Carlos Lee is a Gorman Thomas in the making. The Astros will be lucky to get more than two good seasons out of him.

Purpura is bad. Drayton spends more than enough money – just maybe not always where we would want it. Purpura is not adept at making deals. He has yet to make what I would consider a real impact move.

Why trade for pitching in a market that has more outfield talent to offer through trade? By that I mean, Manny and Vernon Wells are available through trade. Gil Meche et al can be signed. It would seem that the better opportunities at a real impact outfielder were via trades rather that signing the Pilsbury doughboy.

Just my thoughts, but this time next year you will be talking aboutu the new GM of the Astros and his plans for the future. Timmy should have been kept at the top of the minor league system.

I am one who believes that things may not be so bad even if the Astros do not make any more moves. The Astros have Rodrigues, Bucholz, Nieve, Sampson, Hirsh and Albers all trying to win presumably three spots in the rotation. Yep, it’s scary! But odds are very good that at least two of these guys will emerge as solid starters this year, and I also believe Roger will be back. Pettitte will probably retire (he’s been talking about it since last spring, and as a result he may have lost some of his competitive edge). Andy gave it all he had but that may not be enough any more….

I do not believe that the Astros should trade any of their top-tier prospects (any of the six mentioned above, or Taveres, Burke, Scott, Pence) unless they can get an established impact player under the age of thirty, and that’s gonna be hard to do in this environment. I agree that Drayton is arguably the best owner in Houston sports history, but the worst thing he could do now is trade away another potential Mike Cueller, Rusty Staub, Joe Morgan, Curt Schilling, John Buck, or Kenny Lofton, all of which began as Houston prospects.

There might not be much going on in baseball right now, but I think Purpura’s arbitration decisions were another sign of incompetence on his part. If I were a GM and knew that this was a record offseason as far as multi-year contracts were concerned, I’d be all the more inclined to offer arbitration to some of my free agents that I could pretty safely say would not take the arbitration if I did not even show any interest in re-signing them (*cough* Aubrey Huff *cough*). I am reminded of how the Astros got zilch in compensation when Jeff Kent left us in 2004.

It might not make much of a difference if the Astros’ scouting dept can still produce a strong crop of prospects year in and year out, but there’s a reason why Billy Beane always has the talent to sustain his team’s heavy turnover rate. First, he gets tons of first round picks out of his free agents that leave, and second, he uses them well. Offering arbitration is a calculated risk, but a relatively safe one given the amount of information GM’s have on who will leave and who won’t. Purpura’s year-in, year-out mismanagement of his arbitration offers coupled with his greatly overpriced “hometown discounts” leads me to wonder how much respect this organization has with respect to other GM’s and agents.

You’re right about Springer. I was shocked to see they didn’t offer him arbitration. I didn’t think arbitration was going to fetch him much more than what he got last year which if memory serves, was $750,000. Maybe the front office heard that he’s likely to triple his salary in arbitration and they’d like to get him to settle for a modest raise instead?

From what I’ve heard, Russ was pretty much going to retire until the Astros called him in 2004 and he’s said that if he pitches again, it will only be for the Astros as we are so close to his Louisiana home.

So the free agent market looks to be closing for the Astros in terms of pitching. I hate to bring up the “T-word,” but is it a given that any deals for good starters will cost Taveras or Burke or Hirsch?

I think its a mistake to let a leader like Springer go, when you have a group of guys that work well together you don’t try to break them up. Anyway..what do ya’ll think Gardner would do with the team if he had his way?

Not only are they cutting corners with Springer, they are also potentially giving up a first round sandwich pick for him. Somehow Springer was deemed as a Class A free agent so the Astros shold have jumped on that good fortune and at least offered him arbitration. So even if he does good looking for more years and money (and likely will in this FA market), the Astros at least get a chance to grab a great first round prospect. I just don’t see great GM’s like Billy Beane and Kevin Towers, etc. letting an opportunity like that pass.

D-MaC is the brain behind the operation. He is the one that closes these deals. Tim Pee is just a “yes” man. If that is what D-MAC wants then Tim Pee is the right man for the job. For the life of me, I cannot understand why he does not just release Tim Pee, saves money and makes himself the GM ala Jerry Jones. My only guess is that he needs someone to front the blame if something goes wrong…LEO

The descision that could be made on Springer harkens back to a time before Enron/Astro’s Field/Minute Made Park came to be, and Dale Robertson wrote a column on how tight Uncle D’s Pursestrings were. This is the penny pinching Grocer at his worst. We can not wait on Andy and Roger this time around, we have to make serious runs at guys that we KNOW still want to pitch. If the Astros sign Suppan, Padilla, or (Dream of Dreams) break the bank on Zito I won’t care if both Pettitte and Clemens go back to the Bronx. It will be worth it.

As always, I really enjoy how you provide ‘incite’ to the Houston sports community. But care to retract your take on Cougar fans now? (Read the attendance – 38,818). Man, you really missed that one; and please don’t try to take some kind of credit for it….

Provided the money is there from the Astros I don’t think that Rocket or Andy have any reason to play elsewhere. If their motivation is to go out with a World Series ring, its obvious from last year’s Yankee, Red Sox and Mets teams that there are no sure things. The Astros have their chances to get back to the World Series, especially with one or two more moves and with both back for one more try. Plus, why go for another round in the AL when at best, you risk alienating your hometown base and the place both will most likely retire? You can give whoever you want credit (Purpura or Drayton) if that gets done….

I agree with you on Russ Springer. What in the world are they thinking? What’s wrong? Do we have a surplus of veteran relievers just waiting for a turn. This was a dumb move…and you’re right…I see Uncle Drayton’s fingerprints all over this one. He just loves to make the big splash and photo op (signing Lee) but then he will nickle and dime the rest of the organization. Uncle D…raise the price of Twinkies….and keep Russ. Less we forget…he had the juevos to put Barry Bonds in his place last year. And for that….Russ…you will always be my hero!

russ springer may be a vet and may show the younger players some stuff but we need someone that will get the job done for an inning or more.If Russ is not that gut then im sorry he has to go.I agree with you that he shows leadership but how far will that take you? I also agree three youngsters in our starting rotation aint gonna cut it so if im purpura thats priority 1 on my christmas list

two questions. first, who gave up more homeruns, qualls or springer. second, why did the stros have to convince springer to come out of retirement 3 years ago? i think our scouts might have finally seen something other teams did despite his solid seasons the past two years.

Wait, hold on fool. You mean, the other team won’t just accept our …. for their best players? I can’t believe that. You mean, they actually have live human beings that make smart crafted decisions on their end too?

It always amazes me that fans complain and want us to trade all our little problems for the best players on the other team. The Astros really have nothing to get a top-shelf player in a trade at this point. Tavares, Burke, and Hirsch, even all three together aren’t going to bring Dontrelle Willis, Manny Ramirez, or Miguel Tejada. Neither will adding Pence, and Adam Everett. As we saw this fall, team’s will ask for Oswalt or Berkman in any kind of deal like that (Tejada deal).

If the Astros intend to use Ensberg in a trade, as you say, Richard, then why didn’t the Astros offer arbitration to Huff? (He might well have turned it down, in which case the Astros have a potential 1st round choice. And, even then, if the Astros want to negotiate with him, it will be easier to compete with other teams for his services, since those teams know they will lose a draft pick.) The $100 million paid to Lee doesn’t do much good, if the Astros intend to drop two guys, Ensberg and Huff, capable of 20+ HRs/year. That is like one step forward, then one or two steps back, on offense. The most HRs Lamb has ever hit is 12, and he is only one year removed from a .286 OBP season. Lamb is terrible against lefthanded pitching, and must be platooned if he is at 3b. If Ensberg is traded, who do the Astros platoon Lamb with…Bruntlett?

Richard, I have to admit that I’m a little bored by the “was it Tim or was it Drayton that made the move” talk that has been going on in this column of late. Players are the ones who are interesting to discuss, not the front office. I have 3 separate proposals to solve this problem:

1) Stop referring to Tim or Drayton individually and refer to everthing as “the Astros signed . . .” or “the Astros traded for . . .”. Then we can talk about the move itself, instead of who actually did what (which, like I mentioned, bores me to tears).

2) Assume all the good moves are Tim’s. All the bad moves are Drayton’s.

3) Assume all the good moves are Drayton’s. All the bad moves are Tim’s.

Just an idea.

I hope they don’t bring Springer back. ERA for relievers is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially over a a single season. Springer is awful. He gives up 1 HR every 6 IP! He throws fastballs down the middle and can only be trusted in the 7th or earlier with no runners on. And not if there are any lefthanded batters coming up. Furthermore, we have a slew of young pitchers that need to be tested in a reliever’s role, such as Nieve, Albers, Sampson, etc.

If we’re in playoff contention at the break and need a 6th inning guy, we can always trade a minor league class A player to get someone of Springer’s quality. (Or ask someone to come out of retirement).

Springer isn’t very good and never has been. He had a career year if you look at his stats over the years. But I agree that for the price, he’s worth it. They’re not going to get anyone cheaper to fill his innings.

Springer is 38 yrs old. He will command at least $2M in arbitration. Drayton has more sense than to pay that amount to an aging reliever, who can only give you one inning an outing (and a bomb every 6-innings pitched). He’s not a closer, and they have Wheeler, Lidge and Qualls, for the short stints.

Drayton is “cutting corners”? C’mon…..would you pay double the price for gasoline or electricity? He just spent almost $23M on Lee and Williams, and there’s still talk of Drayton being fiscally responsible? Amazing……

Backe is done for. He is just way too injury prone to ever be counted on again. If the Astros were smart they would have traded him after last season. Everyone and their mother probably knew about his arm problems though so they may not have been able to get much for him.

I disagree with you regarding where the credit goes for the signings of Carlos Lee and Woody Williams.

Granted, Drayton McLane is paying the money and the signing of a big free agent is ultimately McLane’s decision. He deserves credit.

But someone has to make the case for the virtues of such a deal. And that someone has to be make one heck of a sales pitch to McLane. That someone is the GM.

Tim Purpura has to get some credit for handling delicate negotiations with the player agent AND handling delicate negotiations with his boss, reputed to be a difficult boss according to some of your own columns over the years.

Also, regarding Russ Springer: I’m confident the Astros fully appreciate Springer and what he brings to the team beyond one inning per game.

But arbitration is a lose-lose proposition for an organization and I cannot remember the last time the Astros took a player there. They like to deal outside of that arena where it’s either the Astros number or the player’s number. It’s a stupid system where the team actually has to justify their number by pointing out the player’s weaknesses. Even when the player ‘wins’ his case, there’s a chance he’ll harbor ill feelings towards his employer after hearing the employer talk of his shortcomings to the arbiter.

From what I’ve read in the past, Russ Springer has a special interest in staying close to home, which I believe is somewhere in Louisiana. Hopefully the Astros will work something out with him to bring him back for at least one more year.

I agree he’s valuable beyond the one inning he pitches when he pitches.

And we’ll have our 3rd bonafide starter long before pitchers and catchers report.

I, like many others, spoke of the perfect storm, a lining up of the stars if you will before the draft: (a) the Texans needed a quarterback that would lead and will his team to victory and (b) with the first pick in the draft, the Texans could select Vincent Young, a hometown hero with otherwordly physical skills – the greatest QB in the history of college football coming off the greatest performance in college football in a national title game.

The Texans, arguing that Vincent Young would take too long to develop (if ever), dreading the word “rebuild” and stating as their desire to compete with Indianapolis, draft Mario Williams. They firmly believed that he could not replicate what he did in college in the NFL. Vincent Young is drafted by the Tennessee Titans, aka Houston Oilers.

Today, Vincent Young led his team to another comeback win over a Manning. Last week, behind 21-0, he led a fourth quarter comeback over Eli Manning and the Giants. Today, behind 14-0, he led his team to victory over Peyton Manning and the Colts. During the past two weeks, commentators have used the words “leadership”, “clutch”, “gazelle”, “amazing” and “willing his team to victory” to describe Vincent Young.

Meanwhile, there is widespread assumption that the Texans will be looking for a new quarterback at the end of this season as they look to rebuild the franchise.

Next week, there will be another perfect storm/ lining up of the stars. I will join the countless other true Texans who will be going to Reliant Stadium to cheer on Vincent Young and the Houston Oilers as they return to their hometown. Luv Ya Blue lives on! Bud Adams should send the following note to Bob McNair (c/o In Denile), Charlie Casserly (c/o CBS) and Kubiak (c/o What Do You Expect from an Aggie): “Thank you for making Houston root for my team again.”

I believe the arbitration rules have been changed and players who are not offered arbitration are still free to sign with the former club, unlike in years past, where the player had to wait until May 1st.

Therefore, the Astros simply made a decision to negotiate with Springer on the open market rather than potentially leave the negotations to the arbitrator, who either must choose the player’s figure or the team’s figure and cannot simply select a salary in the middle.

Who said Taveras can cover for Lee in left? Can he play two positions at once? Sure he may help a FEW times over the course of the season by getting to a ball or two that Lee didn’t and your average CF’er didn’t, but that is going to be a SMALL number of times over the course of a BIG season. Trade em, but only if we can significantly upgrade somewhere else, I don’t know why people are blinded by Chucky Carr.

I’m short for time while basking in another win by the Cowboys, but a couple things caught my eye in your blog.

Someone named Richard Justice wrote that while he didn’t always agree with the decisions of the owner, Drayton’s way works.

I guess I’m confused, Richard. We can only say an owner’s way works if he has won it all. Jerry Jones’s way works. We know this because he has won three titles. I guess the bar is set pretty low in Houston.

Secondly, one of your posters went on and on how the Cubs and Cardinals want Lidge. Unless Pujols needs someone to throw him batting practice when he gets in a rut, they would do well to reconsider attempting to acquire ol’ Gas Can Lidge.

Sorry, guys, but Russ Springer was very overrated as a reliever for the Astros. I always dreaded seeing him come into a game with a lead. Every time I saw him pitch, he would give up a lead. He may have been a great mentor for the young pitchers, but it won’t be that big of a loss if he goes elsewhere. He isn’t that great, you guys. By the way, where starters are concerned, I’m surprised no one has mentioned anything about Gil Meche and Ted Lilly being on the market. Wonder how either one of THEM would do in an Astros uniform?

I know this is a bit off topic but can anyone confirm whether this is true? An Arizona paper quoted someone from the Az governor’s office saying that the Astros are looking to move spring training there from Florida.